This morning, which was cloudy & 21C, we met up &
truck-pooled to the
Penitentiary Museum
which was fascinating.
www.penitentiarymuseum.ca
The Museum is housed in the original Kingston Pen’s warden’s
residence, which was built by inmate labour in 1873.
There were fascinating stories of ingenious attempts at
escape, some of which were successful. The most interesting one involved
cut-out cafeteria trays. The inmate lost 30 pounds to be able to fit into the
cut-out space, was moved by the kitchen staff out of the prison to the off-site
kitchen, from where he made his escape. However, he was recaptured 3 months
later.
Also on display were many methods of ‘punishment’. One of
these was the Water Bath Punishment which existed from 1855 -1859. This method
of punishment originated in the
Eastern United States
and was introduced to Auburn State Penitentiary in
New
York in the early 1840’s in an attempt to find a
substitute for the lash. In his Annual report for 1853, Warden Donald
MacDonnell of the ‘Provincial Penitentiary’ (Kingston Penitentiary) offered a
description of the water bath:
“The convict is stripped quite naked and placed in what may
be termed the stocks, in a sitting position; a shower of water is brought down
upon the unfortunate being, which as I could observe produced a suffocation. This
continued for some time, the operator either increasing or slackening the
torrent at his pleasure.”
The barrel is closed over the convict’s head,
but Marcel wouldn’t let me do that for the photo!
There were also displays of weapons that were fashioned by
the inmates and the clever ways of hiding them.
From there, we went to the Marine
Museum of the Great
Lakes, which collects preserves and presents the Maritime history
of the Great lakes and Kingston’s
shipbuilding past. The Museum’s largest artefact, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship
Alexander Henry, formerly served on the Great Lakes as a
light icebreaker and buoy tender. The ship, which was built in 1959 and retired
in 1985, is 210 feet long and 40 feet wide.
Navigational aid servicing
means taking out markers & buoys in the fall & returning them to their
correct locations in the spring. We had a guided tour of the ship given by a 79
year old Master Captain who has sailed all over the world for 60+ years. He was
a wealth of information!
The Museum also consists of seven Galleries, each one with a
different theme. By the time we got through there, it was past lunch time, so
we went to the nearby Pain Chancho Bakery & Cafe for lunch.
Then, it was back to the campground for social time.
Unfortunately, when trying to get onto
his site, Emile went the wrong way & got stuck! The ground is saturated due
to last night’s rain. They had to get the campground front loader to pull him
out!
Unfortunately, when trying to get onto
his site, Emile went the wrong way & got stuck! The ground is saturated due
to last night’s rain. They had to get the campground front loader to pull him
out!
